SANDPOINT — The Sandpoint City Council voted unanimously to adopt the city budget’s maximum budget amount at $49.9 million.

This decision does not adopt any specific budget items for the 2026 fiscal year, instead it sets the limit of what the city can spend and maintain a balanced budget. The council voted 5-0, with Councilor Joel Aispuro absent, without much discussion.  

"All we are doing with this is setting that top line,” Sandpoint Mayor Jeremy Grimm said.  

In the process of adopting this maximum, the council set a public hearing on the proposed budget for its meeting Aug. 20.     

The limit marks a slight decrease of around $500,000 from the 2025 fiscal year budget maximum. The city does not have to spend the full amount budgeted for 2026, but with this adoption it is no longer allowed to budget for more than the $49.9 million amount.  

The adoption comes several weeks after the item was originally on the agenda. The vote on the budget maximum was moved to the July 30 meeting after Councilor Justin Dick raised concern over not having enough time to dive into the preliminary budget. 

In addition to adopting the maximum and setting the public hearing, the council also declared its intent to use forgone levying authority. According to the resolution, the city’s forgone increase amount will be $53,968 and that money will be used to fund public safety vehicles. 

The councilors will be allowed to make changes to specific budget items, like moving funding from one area to another, during its Aug. 20 budget workshop.  

For example, funding for Selkirks-Pend Oreille Transit Authority has been a continued discussion point for the council because Sandpoint is the only city that the organization services that has not budgeted enough to continue full service.  

When asked about funding for SPOT bus, Grimm said while Wednesday’s council meeting was not the venue for that discussion, the city may have found a solution. 

"There is revenue, not one-time, because it is a multi-year lease from one of the city properties, that could potentially fill that funding gap for SPOT,” Grimm said.  

The final budget workshop for the council and public hearing on the budget will take place Aug. 20 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.